Bite the Bullet
by Roza-Dimka-Reader
Summary: Set after The Ruby Circle. Rose struggles with revealing her special news to her mother...what she doesn't expect is that Janine is hiding a secret of her own. Submission for VA Mother's Day One-Shot Compilation.


**This was my contribution to the VA Mother's Day One-Shot Compilation - please check out the other awesome stories by other VA authors and a special thanks for organisers for putting this compilation together.**

 **You can find the link for the Mother's Day Compilation on my profile - enjoy!**

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I awoke to the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. The mere thought made my stomach growl and my mouth start filling with saliva. Realising I was probably drooling onto my pillow, I wiped my mouth before collapsing back against the mattress.

"Hmm…" I stretched my stiff muscles before snuggling further down into the warmth of the blankets. Footsteps sounded closer than before. I waited in blissful anticipation for his entrance.

"I don't know why you even bother setting an alarm."

His voice ran over my skin like warm honey, his accent causing goosebumps to appear down my arms. A smile spread over my face as I heard him approach my side of the bed.

"Morning," I mumbled, keeping my eyes firmly shut. One of my arms groped the cold air until it came into contact with his stomach. I felt his body vibrate slightly as a warm laugh escaped his mouth.

Smiling at the wonderful sound, I allowed one of my eyes to open. The sight before me was one I didn't think I would ever get used to: Dimitri was hovering over me, shirtless and smiling. It wasn't just a regular smile – it was one of those smiles that he seemed to save just for me, the kind that made my legs feel weak.

"Good morning," he replied, reaching out and catching my hand that was trailing down his body. He acted oblivious to the effect he was having on me. "Maybe it's time to get up?"

"I don't want to," I grumbled, burying my head into the pillow. Another laugh.

He then bent down and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Come on. I made breakfast."

Damn that man. He knew there was only one way to my heart…and that way was bacon.

Mustering up some courage, I swung my legs out of the warm bed and winced at the cold air that attacked my bare skin. With a shudder, I grabbed the duvet and dragged it with me out of the bedroom.

Dimitri didn't look at me as I curled up on the couch but I knew by the way he shook his head in amused exasperation that he had seen me.

"That," he started, carrying a plateful of food from the kitchen, "Is not what I had in mind when I said it was time to get up."

"I got out of bed, didn't I?"

Dimitri knew me well enough by now to know he had to pick his battles. He slid the plate into my outstretched hands and I suddenly lost all concentration on anything but the hot food in front of me. I realised Dimitri must have left the room at some point because when I polished off the last of my bacon, he was already dressed. Damn.

He walked toward me, all traces of his previous humour gone. I looked down at the empty plate in my lap, refusing to meet his gaze. He sat down on the coffee table in front of me.

"You're going to be late."

"I'm not working today."

"Rose…" I didn't have to look at him to know he was frustrated. It was evident from his sigh. "That's not what I was talking about and you know it."

"Why do I have to go?" I groaned. Suddenly feeling too warm, I flung the duvet off me and began pacing. "It's not like today means anything to either of us!"

I braved a glance at his face and instantly regretted it upon seeing the frown resting there. I hated when he looked at me disapprovingly.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" He stood and moved closer. I crossed my arms.

"Like I'm still you're student!"

"You know that's not what I'm doing." Dimitri sighed, taking one of my minds in his. "If you're that worried about this, I can come with you."

"No, no, it's okay." I shook my head. I was being stupid. "I should do this alone. I'll be fine."

I could see in his eyes that he wanted to support me, but he also knew that given this particular situation, I needed to do this alone. I washed my dish in silence, before hurrying to get dressed. Dimitri moved about the apartment, getting ready for his day shift. We left together, walking the short distance to Court's guardian headquarters. With a quick kiss, he bade me goodbye and good luck before heading inside. Groaning inwardly, I forced my feet to move forward. The knot in my stomach grew bigger and tighter with every passing minute, making me feel as though I wanted to empty out its contents.

 _Come on, Rose, pull yourself together,_ I chastised myself. I was Rose freaking Hathaway. I wasn't afraid of anything…or anyone…

Except for maybe my mother.

"Damnit," I muttered, seeing my destination looming ahead of me. Every part of me wanted to turn on the spot and walk the opposite direction. But I couldn't. This was the first time I had seen my mother on Mother's Day for...I didn't even know how long. I hadn't seen her while I was at the Academy, that was for sure. And the past year I had spent at Court, she had been away in Europe with her charge. Our relationship had improved in recent years of course, both of us understanding more about one another.

But that didn't mean the woman didn't scare me.

"Okay." I took a deep breath at the door of the gym before pushing it open. There was no need to stand outside overthinking it. Time to just rip off the band-aid.

Except after a quick scan of the room, I didn't see her red hair anywhere. Confused, I took a few more steps forward. There were guardians here of course – Court's gym seemed to always be occupied, regardless of the time – but not my mother.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax my tense muscles. She was late. That was okay…more than okay, really. It gave me time to try and organise my thoughts.

Twenty minutes later I had almost finished my warm-up and there was still no sign of Janine Hathaway. Had she forgotten? Surely she couldn't have made _that_ many plans for Mother's Day. She was leaving for Europe tomorrow morning so our time together was limited. Perhaps she had mixed up the time we had agreed to train together.

I sighed out loud. It was times like this that made me wish I owned a cell phone.

Figuring she would probably show up sooner or later, I decided to start my workout. The weather was pretty nice this time of year so I opted for the outdoor running track and began my laps. Normally my training was a good de-stressor, but I found myself on edge the whole time I ran, only becoming more and more worked up with each lap. I was just about to give up and return home for a shower when her familiar face appeared at the doorway of the gym.

"Mom?"

She was evidently flustered as her eyes found mine. As she neared me, I saw signs of distress on her weathered face.

"What's the matter?" I hurried towards her, concerned. It wasn't often that I saw my mother anything other than her professional self, especially in public.

"Nothing." She brushed non-existent dirt from her clothes. "Were you leaving?"

"Well, yeah." I wasn't convinced by her excuse – or lack thereof – for being late. "I promised Lissa I'd see her after we trained."

"Go to the Queen if she needs you," my mom insisted, unsurprisingly. Her loyalty to the Moroi would never change, even if the world around us was. "I'm sorry I'm late…I was at a meeting."

"That's okay." My gym bag was beginning to weigh heavily on my shoulder. I shifted it to my other side. "Next time, then?"

"Of course."

A slightly awkward silence hung between us then. Yes, my relationship with my mom had improved drastically in the last couple of years, but still neither of us were quite sure how to act around each other – in particular with goodbyes. I waited for a moment, studying her. She shifted uncomfortably, as if deciding whether to say something. When she didn't, I broke the silence.

"Would you like to get dinner later?" I realised then that this was probably our first ever Mother's Day we had spent together. Knowing my mom, it had already crossed her mind. She, of course, showed no sign that the thought had affected her. Her brief lack of composure on arrival to the gym had been short-lived – there was no sign of her being flustered now.

"That sounds great, Rose." She gave me a small nod. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard relief lacing her words. "Does 7 o'clock suit?"

"That's perfect."

I left the gym to head home for a quick shower before changing clothes and making my way to Lissa's office. I wasn't rostered for duty today but it wasn't like that changed anything. I spent almost every day with Lissa, except for on the rare occasions that Dimitri and I both got the same days off. I didn't mind. Besides, Christian spent most of his time with Lissa too…which meant Dimitri was there, too. It was a win-win situation.

That didn't mean I didn't prefer spending one on one time with Dimitri, which happened a lot too – most nights, actually. We weren't married, which meant we each had our own one-bedroom apartment according to the rules for room allocation. I struggled to recall a time when we had spent the night separately – apart from nights that Lissa and I stayed at university or one of us had a night shift.

Not that I was complaining. I didn't think I'd ever get enough of that man.

As I had anticipated, Christian and Dimitri were sitting with Lissa in her office upon my arrival. Dimitri didn't react upon my entrance – at least, nothing that anybody would have noticed. He was on duty so his face remained expressionless, but I did notice the softening in his eyes as they met mine. They turned questioning, and I averted my gaze.

"Hey, Rose," Lissa greeted me.

"Hey." I threw myself down on the chair nearest her, earning myself a dirty look from Christian as my elbow hit him on the way.

"Did you tell-"

"Nope," I cut her off. "And I don't want to talk about it right now." I discreetly glanced at the other guardians who lined the wall of her large office. Lissa took the hint. She changed the subject to other matters – royal crap that didn't really seem that important to me but probably were for her, being Queen and all. It was her job to worry over stuff I didn't care about.

I didn't meet Dimitri's eyes the whole time I was there, but I felt his curious gaze on me nonetheless. Before leaving, I glanced at him – there was a small frown on his face, creating a line between his eyebrows. I paused, wondering what had caused the change.

As if sensing my question, he lifted his head. I started at the emotion there. He looked hurt. Slowly, his eyes trailed down to my left hand, which dangled by my side. Realisation sank in, creating a knot in my stomach. Self-consciously, I trailed my fingers over my bare hand. I couldn't leave him distracted for the rest of his shift so guardian protocol or not, I approached him and wrapped my arms around him.

"I didn't tell her, it wasn't the right time," I whispered into his ear. "But she's meeting me later. I'll wear it then." I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, still aware that he was on duty, and returned to my spot on the sofa.

"You really didn't have to come with me."

I saw a small, amused smile tug at his lips. Clearly Dimitri didn't share my fears about what we were about to do. Taking down a Strigoi? I could do that without missing a beat. Having dinner with my mom? That was a different story.

"I know," he replied, holding the door of our chosen restaurant open for me. "But this is our news to share. Why not do it together?"

"You just want to make sure I actually tell her before she leaves town."

"That, too."

A smile of my own graced my lips. I couldn't help it – Dimitri's lack of uneasiness soothed my butterfly-filled stomach. I was about to come up with some witty remark when a bright flash of colour caught the corner of my eye.

"Oh dear God, no…"

Dimitri's confused expression quickly turned to one of understanding, and I thought just for one quick moment that I saw a flash of apprehension in his eyes, before returning to its previously relaxed state. I, on the other hand, could practically feel my blood pressure rising.

"Let's bail." I turned on my heel and began heading for the exit. Before even getting two steps away, Dimitri's hand had gripped mine and pulled me back to his side.

"You can do this," he said, his thumb rubbed soothing circles on the back of mine. "It's just your parents."

I gaped at him. " _Just_ my parents?!"

"You know what I mean."

"I know that my mother can decapitate just about anyone and that my father is tied up in God only knows how many illegal activities. Is that what you mean?"

Dimitri didn't grace my sarcastic remark with a comment, but instead tightened his grip on my hand and led me to the table where my parents – _both_ of them – were already seated.

"Dimitri." My father held his hand out to shake Dimitri's, seemingly the first to see us, though I knew that wasn't the case. My mother's guardian-trained eyes would have noticed us the second we walked through the door. She seemed to be finding it difficult to make eye contact with me. I thought back to her odd behaviour earlier in the day. My stomach lurched. Did she already know?

"Rose, my beautifully dangerous daughter." Abe's eyes glinted with mischief. I stopped worrying about my mother momentarily to wonder how on earth I could have overlooked my resemblance to my father while in Russia. The more time I had spent around him, the more I found it blatantly obvious that we were related.

"I didn't know you were in town," I replied, taking the seat across from my mother. Dimitri sat next to me.

"It's nice to see you, too." Abe smirked, acting oblivious to my annoyance. "Besides, I'm only here until tomorrow morning."

"You don't think you could have told me you were here? I would've thought you'd want to spend some time with your favourite daughter."

"Well, that's not exactly why I-"

"Ibrahim!" My mother cut him off with a glare, speaking for the first time since our arrival. She made a point of turning to Dimitri. "How have you been, Dimitri?"

He cleared his throat before answering, choosing to ignore the tension between my parents. "I've been good, thank you. And you?"

"Good."

I was so engrossed in studying my mother's awkward body language that I almost didn't notice our server arriving to take our order.

The conversation was light as we waited for our food. I sipped my water, lost in thoughts of how on earth I would break my news to the scariest people in the world.

 _You can do this,_ I told myself as our food arrived, trying to muster up some courage. _Bite the bullet and everything will be out in the open._

"Dimitri and I are-"

So, we have some-"

My mother and I glanced at each other as we spoke at the same time. I gulped and forced a small smile onto my face as I felt my courage drain away.

"Go ahead," she nodded. Her demeanour reminded me of the rare occasions we'd been in a guardian meeting together. She looked as though she was expecting to hear a guardian tactic suggestion.

" _We_ ," I began, indicating to Dimitri and myself. He gave my leg a squeeze of reassurance under the table. His touch gave me the final bit of confidence I needed to make my announcement. "Have decided to get married."

My parent's reactions were quite similar to how I imagined. My mother paled, while Abe sat there, expressionless…although a deathly glint shone in his eyes when he looked towards Dimitri. I was grateful Dimitri was intelligent enough to know not to speak while they processed our news.

"Married?" My mother spoke as if it was a dirty word. Unsurprisingly, she didn't seem to like the idea. I felt the last of my nerves disappear as I took Dimitri's hand in my own, suddenly feeling strength in my resolution and for the first time since he had proposed to me, I realised my desire to marry Dimitri was as strong as his. Agreeing to an engagement had been a tough step for me, but I knew now without any hesitation that this was the right thing for me.

"Yes, married." My reply was blunt. I glanced between my parents, silently daring them to object.

Abe remained silent, his face calculating while my mother looked as though she was struggling to find words. Her views on marriage and commitment – at least to someone who wasn't a Moroi charge – weren't hard to piece together, based on the fact that she had shipped me off to be raised by the Academy while I was still a baby.

But I wasn't my mother.

"Why?" she asked finally.

I was preparing to answer her question with a sarcastic remark when Dimitri decided to speak up.

"Abe, Janine-" They had been on first name terms ever since the little 'hunting trip' that they had dragged Dimitri on months ago, despite my pleading at the time. "-I understand this is a shock to you both, and against all norms in our society. But I love your daughter more than she'll ever know. I want to show her how much she means to me by making her my wife and cherishing her every moment we are lucky enough to spend together."

Dimitri was approaching this logically and with a level head, as opposed to my method of forcing someone to agree with me. I decided that his approach may have been the better one in this particular scenario…just this once.

"Look, Mom." I spoke directly to her, figuring she'd be finding this difficult to understand. "We know people will talk. We know that people might judge us, but they already are! Dhampir relationships are scandalous enough, not to mention our specific past. We're already topical enough for the tabloids, so why not give them one more story? Who's it going to hurt?"

My mother looked from me to Dimitri, before returning her eyes to me again.

"I want you to protect your reputation."

"Bit late for that," I chucked, letting my smile slide off my face when she didn't look impressed. "Mom, I'm the Queen's main guardian. I think my reputation's safe. Besides, this-" I retrieved the beautiful engagement ring that Dimitri had given to me the previous week from my pocket and slipped it onto my finger. "-is worth so much more to me. _I_ want this."

I took a little glee in the surprise on both of my parent's faces – that was a difficult reaction to get from either one of them alone, nevermind both at the same time. Ten points to Rose.

"That's some ring," my father noted, seemingly impressed. I smiled and admired the glittering jewel on my finger.

"I asked for a rockstar ring," I couldn't help but grin at the smile that rested on Dimitri's face. "He doesn't mess around." His eyes were locked on mine and I could practically feel his love for me spilling out of him. I wanted nothing more than to grab his face and kiss him, but somehow I didn't think my parents – or anyone else in the restaurant for that matter – would appreciate it.

I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to my parents. Abe was looking a little less like he wanted to kill Dimitri, which I took as a good sign. My mother still looked apprehensive however.

"I'm not happy about this," she stated curtly. "But it's not my decision to make. I can see that you both want this and-" She took a deep breath. "I think I can be happy for you."

I absorbed my shock while Dimitri shook my parent's hands. Had I really been worked up all day about _this_? I had expected much worse.

"Thanks," I managed eventually, giving both of them a smile. "We're happy too." Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "Oh, hey, didn't you want to tell us something?"

My mother quickly shook her head. "No, that's okay. It can wait." Abe looked less than pleased at her denial.

"Please. Tell us." I felt the knot returning to my stomach as my mother shifted uncomfortably. Had something bad happened? I watched her more closely. My mother seemed nervous, which was an odd emotion for her to express.

 _Impossible_ , I said to myself. _Janine Hathaway doesn't get nervous._

And yet, my dhampir eyes watched the bead of sweat hiding near her hairline. Her muscles were taut with tension. Suddenly, my news didn't seem like such a big deal.

"What is it?" I lowered my voice to avoid being heard by others in the restaurant. I had never seen my mother in as bad a state as this. "What's wrong?"

Quickly I glanced back at my father, who was looking as indifferent as ever. I relaxed ever so slightly…but then I saw it. The small mischievous smirk, the gleam of delight in his eyes – Abe was excited.

"Oh my God, who did you kill?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri's head snap to look at me. My mother, too, looked shocked. Abe on the other hand laughed with glee, clearly amused by my assumption.

"What are you talking about?" My mother asked, glancing between Abe and I. My father leaned back in his seat, watching me with that same glint in his eye.

"Nothing," I replied, sending Abe a glare before turning back to my mother. "What were you going to tell us?"

She took a depth breath before looking at me, determination evident in her eyes. "Your father and I…" Another deep breath. "Have decided to continue where we left off."

I stared at her blankly. Beside me, Dimitri was silent. Whether he was processing what my mother had just said too or was waiting for me to catch up with what was going on, I didn't know.

"I'm sorry, _what_?" I glanced between my mother and father again, hoping that I hadn't her correctly.

"Rosemarie, keep your voice down," she scolded me, casting a worried glance over her shoulder.

"Keep my voice down? Are you kidding me?!"

"Rose…" Dimitri's voice broke through my panicked stream of thoughts. I knew what he was doing – simultaneously trying to calm me while reminding me how well my parents had taken our news. That didn't mean I had to reciprocate the favour though.

"No." I shook my head.

"Rose, sit down."

I shot my father a glare. "Don't talk to me like a child."

"Then don't act like one."

"I have every right to act this way," I argued, grabbing my bag. Maybe I was being a little childish. But I couldn't help it. The idea of my parents together sent shivers down my spine. Before I knew it, I was heading for the door of the restaurant.

The cool air was refreshing. I took a few deep breaths and made my way back to my room. Figuring Dimitri wouldn't be too far behind me, I left the door unlocked. I had just climbed under the covers of my bed when I heard the door open.

"Rose?"

I mumbled an incoherent noise to let Dimitri know where I was. Moments later I felt the bed dip under his weight.

"What was that about?"

"Wha- How could you ask that?" I sat upright, causing the duvet to drop to my waist. "You heard them! They're… _dating._ "

Dimitri just watched me, eyes wise and patient. I groaned in frustration.

"You don't get it! It's been over twenty years! Why now? They had decades to figure their crap out but they waited until _now_."

Dimitri's thumb started rubbing small circles into my hand as he processed my words thoughtfully.

"Why not now?" he replied. "I didn't think love had a sell-by date."

I shook my head. "That's not what I'm talking about."

I was surprised to feel tears spring to my eyes and hastily brushed them away with my free hand. Dimitri too, looked surprised at my sudden emotion.

"They sent me to the academy," I whispered, not trusting my voice. "They let me be raised by strangers because they decided staying together wasn't worth it."

Understanding lit up in his features as he finally put the pieces together.

"Rose," he said gently. "Times are changing. Thanks to Lissa, dhampirs are beginning to have more rights. Guardians can have relationships if they want to. Look at us. Isn't it a little hypocritical to tell your mother she can't be with your father after telling them we're getting married?"

He was right. I knew he was. I still found it odd to see them standing next to one another, never mind the thought of them _together_. I shuddered.

"It'll take some time but I'll just have to get used to it, I guess." My mother deserved to be happy. Back when I was still in the Academy and my mother had gifted me her nazaar, she had spoken of my father with emotion. She had loved him – something I had never considered until that point. If those feelings still remained, I of all people should know better than to stand between two people that loved each other.

A knock sounded on the door just as Dimitri pressed a kiss to my forehead. I suddenly felt a little embarrassed by how I had acted. My mother was on the other side of the door when I opened it.

"Where's Dad?"

"I told him I wanted to come alone." She looked mad. I didn't really blame her.

Dimitri excused himself as I invited my mother in.

"I'm sorry," I started before a fight could break out. She looked surprised by my apology. "I acted like a brat. If you and Abe want to be together, I'm not going to stand in your way."

I watched the tension drain from her body. She looked relieved that I was being reasonable for once.

"I expected to come here and fight with you."

"I know," I replied with a smirk. "See how much I've grown up?"

She watched me with careful appraisal. "You have. More than I realise sometimes."

We sat in silence for a little while. I was jolted out of my thoughts when her hand caught mine. I had unknowingly been twisting my engagement ring around my finger. My mother, as vigilant as ever, had noticed the movement. She studied the ring with a small smile.

"It suits you," she said eventually. I grinned at the large diamond. Dimitri had done well.

"I think that's the point," I laughed, admiring my glittering rock. "Dimitri's not really the flashy type." Silence ensued again.

"For what it's worth," I started, catching her hand. "I'm happy for you."

It wasn't often I saw my mother's features soften, but they did. "Thank you, Rose," she said.

In a rare moment of shared emotion, I gripped her in a tight hug. She returned it with the same strength. Leaning back from our hug, I gave her a warm smile.

"Happy Mother's Day."


End file.
